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WW2 BOMBER CREW LOSSES DRIVER
WW2 BOMBER CREW LOSSES FULL

I will be procuring a copy of this document shortly. The devastating bombing raids of Dortmund on 12 March 1945 with 1,108 aircraft 748 Lancasters, 292 Halifaxes, 68 Mosquitos was a record attack on a single target in the whole of World War II. In the 760th Tank Battalion, 21 medium tanks were lost, with 36 crewmen casualties inside them and 31 outside. In the 756th Tank Battalion, 23 medium and 3 light tanks were lost, with 49 crewmen casualties inside them and 60 outside. In the 753rd Tank Battalion, 9 medium tanks were lost, with 21 crewmen casualties inside them and 102 outside. An average of 1 man killed and 1-2 wounded for a medium tank loss and 1 man killed and 1 wounded for a light tank loss is not an outlandish statement many tank losses had no casualties, while other tanks were destroyed with all crewmen killed.Ī number of tank crew casualties, perhaps half, occurred after crewmen had abandoned their vehicles or were outside them performing other tasks. In the 48 light tanks each with 4 crew (192 crewmen), 52 were killed (1.08 per tank), 72 were wounded (1.5 per tank), and 1 was missing (0.02 per tank). In the 274 medium tanks each with 5 crew (1,370 crew), 171 were killed (an average of 0.62 per tank), 466 were wounded (1.7 per tank), and 59 were missing (0.22 per tank). The commander/loader became a casualty 63% of the time

WW2 BOMBER CREW LOSSES DRIVER

The driver and bow gunner were casualties 67% of the time, while the gunner was a casualty 65% of the time. The casualty figures for the light tanks are slightly higher, presumably due to their thinner armor and smaller internal volume. The bow gunner was a casualty 48% of the time, while the driver was a casualty 47% of the time. The cannoneer (loader) and gunner were tied at 51%. The study found that in the medium tank, the commander had the highest probability (percentage in which the position was a casualty in all the incidents) of becoming a casualty, at 57%. The tables comprising the study are too unwieldy to replicate, so I'll provide a link and restate the core findings below. The Johns Hopkins University memorandum ORO-T-117 Survey of Allied Tank Casualties in World War II studied tank casualties extensively, in particular 274 medium tanks and 48 light tanks. Does anyone have any insights on the following? 18, 1947 (Harold D.I found the following Coox and Naisawald report quite interesting. To further confirm the losses, I looked at the German fighter pilot claims, which include. In the text above the term Army Air Force should be substituted for Air Corp. protect the lives of the bomber crews they were escorting.Quote is on page 486, chapter XXII, titled Debriefing (HDW).From the book entitled: The Mighty Eighth by Gerald Astor, excerpted by Joe Mansell.

WW2 BOMBER CREW LOSSES FULL

Of those who flew the original twenty-five mission bomber tour in 1942-1943, just 35% survived, the twenty-five to thirty mission requirements of 1944 saw 66% completed, and by 1945, 81% of the combatants flew the full thirty-five engagements. Strictly measuring the mortality rate for the 210,000 air crewmen the casualty figure soars to 12.38% and in addition, 21,000 from the Eighth Air Force wound up in prison of war camps. More airman with the Eighth Air Force lost their lives than the entire Marine Corps, whose enrollment included 250,000 more people. the Air Corps sustained the heaviest losses. Compared to the percentages of other military branches U.S.

398th Killed in Action Summary by Squadron and MonthĨth Air Force Killed in Action StatisticsĪ total of 350,000 airmen served with the Eighth Air Force in England, and to this number, 26,000 were killed, or 7.42 percent.

Killed while Stationed at Station 131, Nuthampstead.

Please send corrections or additional information to the 398th Group Historian. We all respect their memory as brave and loyal 398ers who fought the good battle.Īs follows are various tables and summaries pertaining to the 398th's Killed in Action. Some of us can still remember what at least one, or perhaps two, of these individuals looked like. Listed below are the names of the 293 men that gave their full measure of devotion. This means that roughly one in twenty 398th combat flyers lost his life doing what he believed was necessary to save our country from evil. Our best research identifies two hundred ninety four (294) 398th combat related deaths. That total seems such a large number at first - but it is reasonable. This number multiplied by ten men per crew, multiplied by four Squadrons and adding a few for Group headquarters gives a total - that more than 5,000 served as 398th combat crew members. At the 398th Associations reunion in San Antonio in 1987, I asked Colonel Tracy Peterson, my 601st Squadron Commanding Officer, how many crews served with the 601st Squadron. There has never been any reliable statistics for how many combat B-17 airmen were assigned to the 398th Bomb Group (H).

One in Twenty - The 398th's Killed in Action